Dr. Dre commemorated his divorce from ex-wife Nicole Young with balloons. The rapper, born Andre Young, 56, had a photo of himself taken in front of large, silver balloons that read, “Divorced AF,” per an Instagram post shared by Breyon Prescott on Thursday, Dec. 9.
Breyon congratulated his colleague with a “congrats” and champagne bottle emoji.
The celebratory photo appears to indicate the finalization of his divorce from Nicole, 51, who filed for the separation in June 2020 after 25 years of marriage. The former couple share daughter Truly, 20, and son Truice, 24, together.
The $1 billion legal battle over their fortune was fraught from the beginning as they fought over the validity of a prenuptial agreement, among other things. In new court documents made available in January, Nicole accused Dr. Dre of abuse during the course of their marriage, alleging that he has held a gun to her head twice.
She also claimed that the music mogul “punched me in the head/face” in 1999 and 2000 and “kicked down a door” while she hid “from his rage” in 2016,” per the court docs obtained by PEOPLE. “Andre has verbally and emotionally decimated my personhood to the extent that I currently suffer from post-traumatic stress syndrome,” she stated in the docs.
Per the docs, Dr. Dre denied the allegations, telling a court, “At no time did I ever abuse Nicole or threaten her physical safety.” While he has maintained that the allegations are false, the music mogul has a history of abuse and violence allegations. Singer Michel’le, journalist Dee Barnes, and singer Tairrie B have accused him of abuse.
Renewed interest in the allegations took center stage after the release of the biographical film Straight Outta Compton in 2015. Critics argued that the film ignored Dr. Dre’s history of abuse, prompting the mogul to release a statement to The New York Times apologizing to the “women I’ve hurt.” His statement read, “Twenty-five years ago I was a young man drinking too much and in over my head with no real structure in my life.”
It continued, “However, none of this is an excuse for what I did. I’ve been married for 19 years and every day I’m working to be a better man for my family, seeking guidance along the way. I’m doing everything I can so I never resemble that man again. I apologize to the women I’ve hurt. I deeply regret what I did and know that it has forever impacted all of our lives.”
